My first Steadicam - the Merlin (footage)

Got my Merlin, set it up, and balanced it. I'm flying a Sony TRV-900 with WA lens. I've been using a Glidecam 2000 prior to the Merlin.

First impressions - simply a work of art! Came with a nice DVD tutorial and a very nice foam case. The Steadicam Merlin is lightweight, compact (the foldable feature is awesome), well built, unobtrusive, and simple to use. On the flipside, it takes patience to set up, and trimming is a constant necessity. You so much as breath on it, and the settings need to be trimmed. Another nice thing is that I don't experience the fatigue I do with my Glidecam 2000. I think both units are great handheld performers and comes down to preference. For me, the Merlin is a Formula 1 race car requiring deliberate movements, precise measurements, and situational awareness. For me, the G2K is like a high-performance muscle car, like a "heavier" Dodge SRT-8 - you can get in and drive and get decent results. But hold on when you push it and hope that practice makes perfect.

For the minimal practice I had so far, I put together a quick video (no real editing, no audio, or effects, just wanted to see my results). This is footage of my son driving his Power Wheels Jeep.... wish I had one when I was 3! I provided two links for you (same video on each).

Got my Merlin this week, set it up, and balanced it. I'm flying a Sony TRV-900 with WA lens. I've been using a Glidecam 2000 prior to the Merlin.

First impressions - simply a work of art! Came with a nice DVD tutorial and a very nice foam case. The Steadicam Merlin is lightweight, compact (the foldable feature is awesome), well built, unobtrusive, and simple to use. On the flipside, it takes patience to set up, and trimming is a constant necessity. You so much as breath on it, and the settings need to be trimmed. Another nice thing is that I don't experience the fatigue I do with my Glidecam 2000. I think both units are great handheld performers and comes down to preference. For me, the Merlin is a Formula 1 race car requiring deliberate movements, precise measurements, and situational awareness. For me, the G2K is like a high-performance muscle car, like a "heavier" Dodge SRT-8 - you can get in and drive and get decent results. But hold on when you push it and hope that practice makes perfect.

For the minimal practice I had so far, I put together a quick video (no real editing or effects, just wanted to see my results). The footage of my son driving his Jeep is all Glidecam 2000 (not the best, but gives you an idea). Footage of him on foot is all Steadicam Merlin. No doubt I need more practice, can't wait to get more seat time behind the Merlin! Feel free to skip the G2K footage, the Merlin footage is about halfway through.